Throughout
the decade of 1960s and into the next, Portugal would fight to hold onto its
remaining African Colonies: Angola, Mozambique and Guinea.

It
was around this backdrop that Portugal’s Football ascent in the modern era took
place.

Portugal’s
entry into the elite of the Football World was not achieved initially at
International level but at Club level and by a Hungarian Manager.

Bela
Guttmann, the Well-Traveled Hungarian Manager, had been appointed as Manager of
Lisbon’s Benfica in 1959 just after having led rivals Porto to the League
title.

In
his first season at Benfica, he won the League title as well to gain entry in
the Champions Cup that had been the sole property of Real Madrid in its first
five years.

Guttmann
led Benfica to the Final of the Champions Cup for the 1960/61 season. The Final
on May 31st, 1961 was played in Bern, Switzerland and initially the
odds were against Benfica as they were to face Barcelona who had become the
first team ever to eliminate Real Madrid in the competition.

Benfica
contained a host Internationals who would stand out in this decade for Portugal
such as goalkeeper Costa Pereira, Germano in defense, Mozambique-born and future
Portugal captain Mario Coluna, Jose Augusto and Jose Aguas (whose son would
also play for Benfica and Portugal two decades later).

Benfica
became the first team to win the Champions Cup after Real Madrid by winning
(3-2) vs. Barcelona.

In
that summer, they signed the player who would become the first global Super
Star of Portugal. The 18 year-old Mozambique-born Eusebio had been signed
rather controversially midway through the previous season. In his native
Mozambique he was playing for Sporting de Lourenço Marques that were the farm team of Sporting Lisbon.

The Superb striker Eusebio would take Benfica to the
next level and become the League’s top goalscorer on seven occasions with
countless League titles along the way.

The
following season (1961/62) Benfica plus Eusebio once again reached the Final of
the Champions Cup. This time they were to face the mighty Real Madrid on May
2nd, 1962 at Amsterdam.

Real
Madrid took a two-goal lead but Benfica stormed back to win (5-3) with Eusebio
scoring twice. He had arrived on the European stage and would become one of the
greatest stars of the decade.

Photo
From: Football Magazine, Issue 29, June 1962

(Benfica
squad, May 2, 1962, Champions Cup, Benfica 5-Real Madrid 3)

Eusebio
and Benfica would miss out on a third straight title after they lost the
following year to AC Milan at Wembley. They would similarly lose Finals in 1965
(to Inter 0-1) and 1968 (1-4 to Manchester United), but had been present in
half of the Champions Cup Finals in that glorious decade.

Portugal
would take another important trophy in 1964 when Sporting Lisbon triumphed in
the Cup Winners Cup, defeating MTK Budapest of Hungary.

He
was about to seal Legendary status by not only qualifying Portugal for their
first ever World Cup Final (1966 in England) but also by finishing Third in
that Tournament.

Eusebio
led Portugal and became top goalscorer with nine goals. The highlights included
victories against Brazil and Hungary in the First Round, not to mention, the
magnificent fight back against North Korea in the Quarterfinals, where they
fought back from a (0-3) deficit to win (5-4) with Eusebio scoring 4 goals in
that match.

However,
Portugal’s greatest success (up to that point) did not act as a springboard to
further glory. It appeared to have been the peak for that Generation. The
National Team would slowly fall off the pace and miss out on qualifications.
The slide would continue into the 70s with an ageing Eusebio unable to stop the
decline.

Portugal
became a second rate Footballing Nation with its National Team and its clubs as
well.

Benfica
and Sporting Lisbon (every few years or so) would win the League title with no
credible challengers domestically and would not make much of an impression at
European club level.

Politically,
also Portugal was going through a turbulent time and a Political Coup by the
Military in 1974 made things only worse.

It
was only starting 1975 that the Nation started transitioning into a Democracy
and abolished its Colonial rule in Africa.

Needless
to say, matters on the field were not the primary preoccupation of the masses
and that might somehow explain the decline of their Football fortunes.

There
were some players who made their name in the 70s but none of them could be
considered Superstar status certainly not compared to their glorious
predecessors from the previous decade.

A
young midfielder Fernando Chalana was starting to break through that decade.

Some
players actually joined foreign clubs but for very short spells as none of them
made the impact required at foreign clubs.

Porto’s
young striker Fernando Gomes, who had benefited from Peruvian Teofilo Cubillas’
experience at Porto, was also anonymous in his two-season stay at Sporting
Gijon (1980 through 1982) before returning to Porto.

Along
the way Portugal failed to qualify for the World Cup Finals of the entire
seventies (1970, 1974, 1978) as well as 1982.

In
addition they had failed to qualify for the UEFA European Championship Finals
of 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1980.

Failure
to qualify was a common theme often they finished second in their various
qualification Groups.

The
National Team’s fortunes changed for the 1984 UEFA European Championship
qualifiers.

They
were not initially favored in a Group containing the Soviet Union and Poland
(that had just finished Third in the 1982 World Cup).

However,
Poland would struggle and Portugal would take advantage.

The
Portuguese managed by the Brazilian Otto Martins Gloria would win their first two
qualifiers in the Fall of 1982 against Finland (away) and Poland.

They
were heavily defeated in their next qualifier on April 26, 1983 at Moscow vs.
USSR (0-5). At this point the Soviets seemed set to qualify. However, the Soviets
would drop a point in an away tie (1-1) with Poland that would come back to
haunt them.

At
the same time, a Benfica side led by veterans such as Humberto Coelho and Nene
and a Fernando Chalana in his prime reached the Final of the 1983 UEFA Cup. Despite
their loss to Anderlecht, Benfica’s achievement was a sign of Portugal’s
progress and the rise of a new Generation.

Another
major achievement at the end of that season was Porto’s Fernando Gomes winning
the Golden Shoe as Europe’s top goalscorer with 36 goals.

(Fernando
Gomes as Europe’s top goslcorer, 1982/83 with Nikos Anastopoulos and Peter
Houtman)

When
the new season started (1983/84), Otto Martins Gloria was no longer in charge of the
National Team. He had left after the top clubs refused to release their players
too many times.

The
Portuguese Federation appointed a Management Team of four (Fernando Cabrita, Antonio
Morais, Antonio Oliveira, Jose Augusto).

They
would be responsible to qualify Portugal for its first Finals of any kind since
1966.

In
Portugal’s first qualifier of the season on September 21st, 1983,
Finland were soundly defeated (5-0). The match marked the debut of Sporting
Lisbon’s prodigy Paulo Futre, who at the age 17 years, 6 months and 21 days
became Portugal’s youngest ever International.

Futre
would be the next Superstar of Portugal of the new Generation. However, he was
still too young to be part of the 1984 Euros adventure and unfortunately his
brilliance was confined at club level (more about that later).

After
another win this time away vs. Poland (1-0) in October 1983, Portugal only had
to beat the Soviets at home to qualify.

They
did just that in controversial fashion on November 13, 1983 by defeating the
Soviets (1-0) with a penalty kick by Rui Jordao that should not have been
given.

Photo
From: Onze, Issue 102, June 1984

(Portugal
squad, November 13, 1983, EC Qualifier, Portugal 1-USSR 0)

That
season Portugal once again showed its progress in the European club level.
Porto introduced itself on the European stage by reaching the Final of the Cup
Winners Cup on May
16, 1984 vs. Juventus. Though, Porto were defeated (1-2) most observers were
impressed by their display.

Photo
From: Mondial, new series, issue 58, January 1985

(Porto
squad, May 16, 1984, Cup Winners Cup, Juventus
2-Porto 1)

This
achievement would be launching pad the club needed to get to the next level and
they would be THE team in Portugal for the next thirty years.

Portugal
would be one of the surprises of these 1984 Euros. This was the best Portuguese
Team since 1966. They reached the semifinals only losing to the hosts France in
overtime (2-3). Fernando Chalana and Rui Jordao impressed the most in this
first Euro Finals for Portugal.

The
following season (1984/85), Jose Torres was appointed as National Team Manager
to guide Portugal to its first World Cup since 1966.

Paolo
Futre was now firmly in the National Team set-up and its hope for the future.
In the offseason he had joined Porto from Sporting Lisbon and would progress
further in a team full of Internationals where Fernando Gomes was scoring
freely. At the end of that season Porto striker Fernando Gomes would become
Europe’s top Golascorer for the second time (this time with 39 goals).

Photo
From: Onze, Issue 114, June 1985

(Fernando
Gomes, Europe’s top goalscorer with Porto, 1984/85)

Just
like in 1966, the performances of 1984 were the peak of that Generation and not
the reference for further glory.

Nevertheless,
a weakened Portugal did just enough in a Qualifying Group that West Germany ran
away with. Carlos Manuel scored one of Portugal’s most important goals in their
win over West Germany (1-0) on October 16, 1985.

The
win ensured qualification for the 1986 World Cup, but clearly the team was a
shadow of the 1984 side.

Despite
struggling Portugal unexpectedly won its first match in the World Cup on June 3rd,
1986 vs. England (1-0) with another important Carlos Manuel strike.

However,
after this match the National Team was embroiled in the ‘Saltillo Affair’
(Saltillo was the Mexican City where the National Team was stationed during the
World Cup).

Photo
From: Mondial, new series, issue 75, June 1986

(Carlos
Manuel, June 3, 1986, World Cup, Portugal 1-England 0)

After
a row over Bonuses and other off field issues (enough to write a book about)
the Players refused to train between their first and the
second games.

Two losses were followed vs. Poland (0-1) and
Morocco (1-3) and Portugal were eliminated in disgrace.

The fall-out from the rebellion was swift. Eight
players who were the ringleaders of the rebellion were suspended from the
National Team. The other fourteen players in solidarity with the eight declared
themselves unavailable for selection.

This deprived Portugal of the services of the
likes of Futre, Carlos Manuel, Fernando Gomes and Jaime Pacheco among others.

This would be the beginning of another era of
decline for the National Team.

José Torres left his post as well to be replaced
with Rui Seabra.

Rui
Seabara was left with selecting inexperienced and/or recalling older players
and the Team struggled in the 1988 Euro qualifications.

While
the National Team suffered, it was at club level that Portugal had its moment
of success. A squad led by the respected Manager Artur Jorge and with Paulo
Futre in his peak triumphed in the 1987 Champions Cup in Vienna by defeating
Bayern Munich (2-1) on May 27, 1987.

Photo
From: Onze, Issue 138, June 1987

(Paolo
Futre, May 27, 1987, Champions Cup, Porto 2-Bayern Munich 1)

While
this was a triumph for a Portuguese club, it certainly was not for Portuguese
Football in broader terms. It must be remembered that the team was flooded with
foreign players such as Polish goalkeeper Jozef Mlynarczyk, Algeria’s Rabah
Madjer (who scored the memorable back heel in the Final) and a host of
Brazilians. In fact there were many Brazilians in the side since in the
Portuguese League, Brazilians were considered as Nationals and not foreigners.

Paulo
Futre rode on the wave of that success to be the genuine star of that Generation.
In the summer he joined Spain’s Atletico Madrid. The new controversial Atletico
Madrid President Jesus Gil sealed the deal with a yellow Porsche.

By
the Fall of 1987, the strike had been resolved and a new Manager had been
appointed. The new boss Julio Cernadas Pereira ‘Juca’ was able to call upon the
likes of Futre and Gomes but it was too late to salvage qualification for the
Euros.

The
only positive news concerning Portugal included Porto and Paulo Futre,

Porto
went on to win the 1987 UEFA Super Cup as well as the Intercontinental Cup to
cap off a memorable year.

Paulo
Futre’s performances for Porto and his new club Atletico Madrid earned him a
runner-up position for the 1987 Ballon d’Or election. He finished just behind Holland’s Ruud Gullit.

Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 2, March 1989

(Paolo
Futre at Atletico Madrid)

That
season (1987/88) Benfica also reached the Final of the Champions Cup but were
defeated in the Final by PSV Eindhoven in a penalty kick shoot-out.

The
National Team would go on and continue to struggle for the 1990 World Cup
Qualifiers.

So
bleak were the prospects that in the Fall of 1988 veterans like Fernando
Chalana and Rui Jordao were even recalled to the National Team.

By
now Futre was joined by another ambassador making it away from home. Rui Barros
joined Juventus in 1988. While he was not as brilliant nor successful as Futre
he nevertheless would go on to have a satisfactory career outside of Portugal,
lining up for Juventus, AS Monaco and Olympique Marseille.

Photo
From: Mondial, new series, issue 104, October-November 1988

(Rui
Barros at Juventus)

While
at the senior level Portugal were struggling (save Futre / Barros), the
resurrection in their fortunes would take place at the youth level.

Of
course it would take many years for it to reach fruition nevertheless the roots
were set for a brilliant Generation.

Portugal’s
Under-20 Manager Carlos Queiroz would oversee the rise of that particular
Generation.

He
led the Under-20 Porugal squad to victory in the 1989 Under-20 World Cup held
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Portugal
defeated Nigeria (2-0) in the Final on March 3, 1989.

Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 3, April 1989

(Portugal
squad, March 3, 1989, U-20 World Cup, Portugal 2-Nigeria 0)

The
squad contained players like Fernando Couto, Joao Vieira Pinto who would go on
and play for the Golden Generation of Portugal in a few year’s time. Other
players in that squad such as Antonio Folha, Jorge Couto and Paulo Madeira
would also line up for the National Team in the coming years.

Benfica
would reach another Champions Cup Final in 1990 losing to AC Milan (0-1).
Despite reaching two Champions Cup Finals, Benfica were mostly dependent on
foreign players such as Sweden’s Jonas Thern and Mats Magnusson and many
Brazilians such as Ricardo Gomes, Aldair and Valdo. There were not many
Portuguese born players who would be standouts at the International level in a
manner of a Futre.

After
elimination from the from the 1990 World Cup qualification, Porto Manager Artur
Jorge was appointed as the National Team’s Manager with Benfica’s Toni as his
assistant. The duo was unable to help Portugal qualify for the 1992 Euros in a
Qualification Group containing Holland, but progress was evident.

Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 24, January 1991

(Artur
Jorge)

In
1991, Carlos Queiroz led yet another Under-20 squad to win the World Cup in its
category. This time the Tournament was played on home soil. On June 30th,
1991, Portugal defeated Brazil in the Final in a penalty kick shoot-out after a
scoreless tie.

Joao
Vieira Pinto was a member of that squad as well and won two Under-20 World
Cups.

After
his successes Carlos Queiroz would be appointed as the National Team Manager of
the senior side.

He
would go on and integrate many of his youth players into the side in the
following years.

At
a time when Futre was slowly fading, Portugal were confident that this new
Generation could fill the void.

However,
success did not come overnight nor did any immediate qualification.

Queiroz
led Portugal in the Qualification for the 1994 World Cup in a Group with Italy
and Switzerland as its main rivals.

Photo
From: World Soccer, September 1991

(Carlos
Queiroz)

Once
again, despite improvements (including the memorable 5-0 win over Scotland on
April 28, 1993), Portugal failed to qualify and Queiroz left.

Portugal’s
resurgence at the International level started with the 1996 UEFA European
Championship qualifiers when the 1991 Generation firmly established itself.

The
former Porto and Sporting Lisbon star Antonio Oliveira was now managing the
National Team.

Portuguese
players were very much in demand around this time and in the summer of 1994
many joined top teams in Italy. Rui Costa (at Fiorentina), Paulo Sousa (at
Juventus) and Fernando Couto (at Parma) were now part of Europe’s elite and all
adapted well at their new surroundings.

Paulo
Futre was essentially lost after a serious injury in November 1993 while
playing for Reggiana in Italy. He would be out for over a year and a half and
even when he returned he was hardly the same player as before (not to mention
he was getting older).

But
it hardly mattered as this New Generation wanted to write its own history.

Portugal
qualified for the 1996 Euros in England by winning a Group containing Austria,
as well as both Irelands.

Luis
Figo had similarly joined Portugal’s foreign contingent by signing for
Barcelona in the summer of 1995.

Paulo
Sousa made somewhat of a history by winning Champions Leagues in successive
seasons with two different teams (1996 with Juventus and 1997 with Borussia
Dortmund).

Photo
From: World Soccer, June 1996

(Paulo
Sousa at Juventus, 1995/96)

In their
first appearance in the 1996 Euros since 1984, Portugal did well and reached
the quarterfinals before losing to eventual Finalists the Czech Republic (0-1).

After
the Euros, Artur Jorge was re-appointed as National Team Manager but despite
losing only once in the qualifiers, they narrowly lost out a playoff spot to
Ukraine (with Germany winning the Group).

Jorge
would leave his post to be replaced with another former Portugal star Humberto
Coelho.

He
would lead perhaps Portugal’s best ever squad in the 2000 Euros qualifications.

They
would comfortably qualify with Romania to play in the Euros taking place in
Belgium/Holland.

By
now (mostly because of the Bosman ruling) the majority of the squad played in
Europe’s top Leagues.

At
this Tournament, the Figo/Rui Costa Generation would be at its zenith.

England
and Germany were defeated in the First Round. The Portuguese reached the
semifinals only losing to the one of the greatest French Teams ever boasting
Zidane and Henry.

That
Summer, on July 24th, 2000, Luis Figo broke the World Record for
Transfers by joining Real Madrid in a controversial move from Barcelona for $55
Million US Dollars. By the end of the year he would be awarded the Ballon d’Or
becoming the First Portuguese Player since Eusebio to achieve that distinction.

Antonio
Oliveira was re-appointed as Portugal Manager in the Fall of 2000 tasked with
Portugal’s qualification for the 2002 World Cup.

Portugal
qualified from a Group containing Republic of Ireland and Holland.

They
went with high hopes at Japan/South Korea with great expectations. This
Brilliant Generation were considered as contenders.

Unfortunately,
Portugal flopped at the World Cup. They lost their opener to the United States
(2-3) and the hosts South Korea (0-1) to be shockingly eliminated in the First
Round.

It appeared Portugal’s best Generation had reached its
peak as well and would slowly fade away.

Portugal who were to host the 2004 Euros were intent on
winning the Tournament on home soil and felt perhaps the Golden Generation still
had one more Tournament left in them.

In 2003 Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil’s 2002 World Cup
winning Manager, was appointed and he gave s shot in the arm to a squad that
seemed to have been in decline.

Photo
From: World Soccer, Summer 2004

(Luiz
Felipe Scolari)

In a controversial move he selected Porto’s Brazilian
Star Deco, after he had obtained Portuguese citizenship. The move did not go
well with some in Portugal, most notably Figo. However, Scolari reminded
everyone that he was in charge and would do whatever it took to strengthen his
team.

Deco helped his cause by scoring in his International
debut (against Brazil!!) in a (2-1) win on March 29, 2003.

However,
the most significant event in Portugal’s modern Football History would occur
that summer.

A
youngster by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Manchester United.
Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson had spotted the Sporting Lisbon
player’s potential in a Friendly and signed the burgeoning Superstar.

Photo
From: World Soccer, August 2004

(Cristiano
Ronaldo)

More than a decade after perhaps even he could not have foreseen what Cristiano
Ronaldo achieved in the game.

The
teenager would force his way into the Portuguese squad as early as August 2003
and become an integral part of the National Team.

Amazingly
in the age of Bosman a Portuguese was excelling on the European Level. A Porto
side managed by a then-unknown Jose Mourinho had won the 2003 UEFA Cup. The
following year (2003/04) they would surprise the continent by winning the
Champions League.

Jose
Mourinho was now the most in-demand Manager in Europe and would join Roman
Abramovich’s Chelsea at the end of that season and would lead it to more glory
amnd become one of the most successful (and controversial) ambassadors of
Portuguese Football.

In
the 2004 Euros, Portugal still had Fernando Couto, Rui Costa and Figo as its
last link of the 1989/1991 U-20 Generation.

This
time they were complemented with the emerging talent of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal
reached the Final but missed its chance of a First Title by losing to Greece
(0-1) in the Final on July 4, 2004.

This
had seemed Portugal’s best chance ever to win any International title and when
they missed out no one could foresee future victories.

This
was the end of the road for Fernando Couto and Rui Costa who retired from the
National Team afterwards.

Luis
Figo also retired from the National Team in disappointment; however, he would
be back after a year in 2005 and help Portugal qualify for the 2006 World Cup.

Figo
would end his National Team career after helping Portugal reach the semifinals
of the 2006 World Cup.

Cristiano
Ronaldo had improved year after year but he would take another dimension
afterwards and slowly become one of the best players in the History of the
Game.

Cristinao
Ronaldo would win the Champions League with Manchester United in 2008. At the
end of that year he would be elected as Ballon d’Or becoming the Third
Portuguese player after Eusebio and Figo.

He
would join Real Madrid in 2009 in another world Record Transfer (94 Million
Euros).

At
Real Madrid he would improve even further and would enter into a rivalry with
Barcelona’s Argentinean star Lionel Messi to lay claim as the World’s best
player. The pair would share the Ballon d’Or for the better part of a decade
(still ongoing…).

In
Addition to two other (and perhaps three) Ballon d’Or awards, he would add two
more Champions Leagues trophies with Real Madrid.

The
National Team would regularly reach the Finals of Tournaments in 2008, 2010,
2012 and 2014 but would make no headway despite the presence of Cristiano
Ronaldo.

After
Scolari’s reign, Carlos Queiroz was re-appointed as National Team Manager and
remained until the Fall of 2010, when he was replaced with Paulo Bento.

Paulo
Bento stayed until 2014 before he was replaced by the pragmatic Fernando
Santos.

Portugal
won its long awaited International trophy by winning the 2016 UEFA European
Championships in France with Cristiano Ronaldo as its inspirational Captain.

The
defensive playing style set by Fernando Santos would be criticized but at this
point only victory mattered to a Nation that had missed out on the top International
prizes.

From
Eusebio to Cristiano Ronaldo, passing through Futre and Figo, Portugal went
through many ups and downs.

These
four players are symbols of four different eras in Portuguese Football and in
some cases they overlap one another.

The
late Eusebio represents the nostalgia of attacking Football where the public
mostly remembers in black and white highlights.

The
1966 World Cup will always be remembered in Portuguese folklore as will
Eusebio, perhaps the greatest striker of his Generation along with Pele.